David Letterman Rings Out

 

Reflecting on David Letterman's final episode, set to air later this evening, several favorite moments from the show -- including a few with Olympic rings -- come to mind.

Maybe not enough for a Top 10 list, but a few worth noting as the television milestone is here.

My earliest Letterman memories date to summer of 1986.

Though youthful staying up late was permitted years prior, that summer between seventh and eighth grades was my first with my very own in-bedroom TV, so I was more inclined to (and could get away with) keeping the tube on past midnight.

In those days, GE was the new owner of NBC, and Letterman made a lot of jokes about the "GE Guys" (I suspect most of this footage was purged from the archive when Letterman jumped to CBS). Encouraged by a reader letters segment, I hand-carved a candle with cartoonish "GE Guys" suitable for on-air burning (sadly it was never mailed -- never could catch the mailing address).

That was the summer they crushed items with a large press, and it was also the age of the "thrill cam"

and later a "tiger cam" attack on Paul Shaffer as a would-be big cat (a cleverly-placed boom camera) lunged across the audience in a few bounds to a terrified band leader. Very funny.

The ever-changing "home office" references sent me to the atlas several times.

Sort of lost track of Letterman during later years of high school, but picked up again whenever tabloid TV raved about specific episodes. Favorites: Cher proclaiming her hunch that Letterman was an {bleep}hole, and Drew Barrymore flashing her tattoo-covered bare midriff and other body parts.

The Sonny and Cher reunion the following year was must see TV. Maybe tonight Cher will perform "I Got You, Dave" as an homage to the 1987 clip of "I Got You, Babe."

In 1994, Letterman's Olympic coverage from Lillehammer was a nice break from Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding coverage. And it was fun to see David's mom and technician Biff as Olympic correspondents again live from Nagano in 1998.

Of course, Olympic athlete appearances on the show were always fun to watch.

I'll miss Letterman but admit the "new blood" arrival of Stephen Colbert is appealing. Thanks to David Letterman for many funny five-ringed TV moments and lots of laughs.

Photos via CBS

Rio vs. Robin Williams

The most ridiculous "news" item today -- other than CNN airing their own admission that they shamelessly just played (for the umpteenth time) the unverified-by-CNN Tiger Woods voicemails -- came in the form of an Associated Press brief stating that the Rio 2016 Olympic organizers are looking for legal options given Robin Williams' Olympic bid-related comments on "The Late Show with David Letterman" recently (see the full episode with Williams):

"Some citizens and officials in the Brazilian city are upset with comments the comedian made on a recent appearance on ... Letterman, saying Rio received the 2016 Olympics because it sent '50 strippers and a pound of blow' to compete with Chicago’s entourage that included Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey ... Rio’s Olympic Committee said its lawyers will analyze whether legal action against Williams is possible."

I hope the lawyers in Rio aren't seriously wasting time on this "issue" as there are certainly more important items to tend to in the 2016 Olympic city preparations.

C'mon, everyone knows by now it was more than 100 strippers ... and a kilo of blow, and Pelé was place-kicking ludes into the mouths of IOC members! (Just kidding, IOC, Pelé and Rio 2016 -- I look forward to again visiting Brazil many times now to 2016).

It was good to see Robin Williams in the news, though -- glad he is healthy again. Just thinking of him crying over this Olympic legal issue brings back thoughts on the disturbing scene in "One Hour Photo" when Williams' character had a nightmare (yikes!).

As my septuagenarian middle school algebra teacher used to exclaim, "Oh, for crying out tears in the sink!" (I think she would say the same of Rio "legal issue" for Williams, no algebra required.)

Photo of Robin Williams via this site; Rio 2016 logo via this site.